Sunday, January 24, 2010

Spiritual Sundays

Today's spiritual Sunday is written by Regan.

Most, if not all, parents are faced with questions of faith from their children. Some kids may ask to know if God exists or ask questions about Him. Other kids may want to know why people believe differently or may want to understand others religions. As with parenting in general, there’s a large range of ways to approach these questions. Some parents feel that they should not influence their children’s beliefs, as it is something their kids will decide upon as they mature. These parents purposely avoid questions of faith. Other parents are motivated by kids to seek out answers to questions of faith that they don’t feel comfortable answer themselves. This guy is a good example . The great novelist Charles Dickens took a different approach. Being an author he wrote a book about Jesus. This was initially just for his children and he read it to them each Christmas, which has since been published for a broader audience. He began this book by writing, “My Dear Children, I am very anxious that you should know something about the History of Jesus Christ. For everybody ought to know about Him. No one ever lived who was so good, so kind, so gentle.”

Much more recently, Jeffrey R. Holland , in his characteristically compelling manner encouraged parents to actively seek to influence their children in matters of faith.
“We all learn ‘line upon line, precept upon precept,’ (2 Ne 28:30) with the goal being authentic religious faith informing genuine Christlike living. In this there is no place for coercion or manipulation, no place for intimidation or hypocrisy. But no child in this Church should be left with uncertainty about his or her parents’ devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Restoration of His Church, and the reality of living prophets and apostles who, now as in earlier days, lead that Church according to ‘the will of the Lord, . . . the mind of the Lord, . . . the word of the Lord, . . . and the power of God unto salvation.’ (D&C 68:4) -- General Conference April 2003